Vindiciae legis, or, A vindication of the moral law and the covenants, from the…Vindiciae legis, or, A vindication of the morall law and the covenants, from the…

Question 4. What was the opinion received among the Pharisees ¹concerning the Commandments of God? That you may know the just ground our Saviour had thus to expound the Law, it will be manifest, if you consider the general opinion received among the Jews about the sense of the Commandments; and that was, The Law did only reach to the outward man, did only forbid outward acts, and that there was no sin before God in our hearts, though we delighted in, and purposed the outward acts, if they were not outwardly committed. And this we may gather by Paul, that all the while he was bewitched with Pharisaical principles, he did not understand inward lust to be sin: and as famous, as it is false, is that exposition brought by the Learned of Kimchy upon that Psalm 66. 18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, he will not hear: he makes this strange meaning of it, If I regard iniquity only in my heart, so that it break not forth into outward act, the Lord will not hear, that is, hear, so as to impute it, or account it a sin. And thus it is observed of Josephus, that he derideth Polybius the noble historian, because he attributed the death of Antiochus to sacrilege only in his purpose and will, which he thought could not be; that a man, ⟨p. 179⟩having a purpose only to sin, should be punished by God for it. But the Heathens did herein exceed the Pharisees, fecit quisque quantum voluit: its Seneca's saying. And, indeed, its no wonder if the Pharisees did thus corrupt Scripture, for its a doctrine we all naturally incline unto, not to take notice, or ever be humbled for heart sins, if so be they break not out into acts. Oh, what an hell may thy heart be, when thy outward man is not defiled? Good is that passage, 2 Chron 22. 26. Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart. Certainly, as God, who is a spirit, doth most love spirit-graces; so he doth most abhor spirit-sins. The Schools do well observe, that outward sins are majoris infamiae, of greater reproach, but inward heart-sins are majois reatûs, of greater guilt, as we see in the devils. And from this corruption in our nature, ariseth that poisonous principle in Popery, which is also in all formal Protestants, That the commands of God do only forbid the voluntary omission of outward acts, whereas our Saviours explication will find every man to be a murderer, an adulterer, &c.